The top 1% in a global scale may be >$ 1 million, however this is probably a minimum for most families in the US to have a well funded retirement and so not sure I would define this as “wealthy”. l am not not knocking the pleasures of being able to down a Guinness and enjoy what the US gives us in health care and lifestyle. A lot of us look at the disparity between the 1 percentile folks and the 2% group and feel there is inequity in our country.
Investopedia:
The minimum net worth of the top 1% of households is roughly $13.7 million.
An individual would have to earn an average of $407,500 per year to join the top 1%. A household would need an income of $591,550.
The median household income in the United States was $80,610 in 2023.
Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 somehow seems appropriate for a former enthusiastic UK student journalist: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,So do our minutes hasten to their end;Each changing place with that which goes before,In sequent toil all forwards do contend.Nativity, once in the main of light,Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.Time doth transfix the flourish set on youthAnd delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow: And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
Nice review—David Swensen-when alive and running Yale’s endowment—Klarman and even Buffett in their books, all describe much of their success in investing as coming from special opportunities—supporting takeovers and mergers, venture capital startups and financing bailouts. These deals all take a lot of capital and a huge investment in screening. Swensen and Buffett more or less said common investors don’t have access to these favorable deals and recommended low cost diversified investing for most investors. We still have the advantage of patience that most of the venture capital investors with their 4-5 year time-lines lack.
TIAA is facing a class action suit for rigging their retirement calculator to always recommend their annuities and real estate mutual fund (“Ka-Ching”). There are situations where single annuities don’t make sense, eg if your IRA equivalent is fairly large and diversified with bonds, SS and money market funds available for short-term income needs.
I always wanted to visit Molokai and would enjoy some travel suggestions, eg where are good snorkeling spots? Sticking to HD’s mission— did the off the map location keep the total travel budget low—eg did the small planes and limited vacation rentals result in low prices that compensate for the high grocery costs? I would imagine it could be like St Johns, VI with a high cost for restaurants and fancy rentals but a lot of inexpensive camping and outdoor activities available?
I used to be DIY and had no problems with Vanguard or with Merrill Lynch phone and on-line support. Things got more complicated with SEPs, 503b, transferred IRAs, Merrill brokerage, donor advisory fund, etc. Phone support for both dwindled and became more difficult to access. Three years ago I began using the Vanguard private consulting service and I highly recommend their services. The 0.3% fee is a good value for me and my wife—they help with education and retirement planning and implement investments. They also eliminate service problems and are available to do things like help adjust investment thresholds when dividends trickle in and move money from a money market savings fund to checking and investments. There is a bit of a firewall between the consulting service and setting up their donor advised fund—not sure if that is a regulatory barrier? My spouse hates finances and they could also handle financial affairs if I were to die before her.
i have seen a lot of strife and estrangements based on widowhood and unusual estate divisions in in-law and friend families: one father with cancer thought it was best to help out the second younger generation and divided up his estate among his grandchildren—this left an unmarried daughter who had no children furious and estranged; I have seen a stepmother take a family farm away from the adult children operating the farm with their estrangement; I saw a widowed father remarry and have him and his wife be rejected by the adult children even though she only had a living will which passed their house eventually to the children and his investments went to the children—they just couldn’t cope with the loss of their mother.
My Vanguard advisor is great and has a 0.3% fee. My previous Wells Fargo wealth advisor charged 1% and offered some high fee products and gave me a portfolio that earned 2% less than my Vanguard portfolio. Firing him and moving over to Vanguard has given me large returns with low fees.
https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html vanguard’s economic projection may be helpful—they show the importance of standard bond/equity and domestic/international diversification.
Comments
- The top 1% in a global scale may be >$ 1 million, however this is probably a minimum for most families in the US to have a well funded retirement and so not sure I would define this as “wealthy”. l am not not knocking the pleasures of being able to down a Guinness and enjoy what the US gives us in health care and lifestyle. A lot of us look at the disparity between the 1 percentile folks and the 2% group and feel there is inequity in our country.
Investopedia:Post: The 1% Club: Our Unnoticed Wealth
Link to comment from September 26, 2025
Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 somehow seems appropriate for a former enthusiastic UK student journalist: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, So do our minutes hasten to their end; Each changing place with that which goes before, In sequent toil all forwards do contend. Nativity, once in the main of light, Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d, Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight, And Time that gave doth now his gift confound. Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow, Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth, And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow: And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand, Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
Post: Farewell Friends
Link to comment from September 22, 2025
Here’s a take on the dividend irrelevance theory: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/dividend-irrelevancy-theory/
Post: Dividends Part II – At least
Link to comment from August 25, 2025
Nice review—David Swensen-when alive and running Yale’s endowment—Klarman and even Buffett in their books, all describe much of their success in investing as coming from special opportunities—supporting takeovers and mergers, venture capital startups and financing bailouts. These deals all take a lot of capital and a huge investment in screening. Swensen and Buffett more or less said common investors don’t have access to these favorable deals and recommended low cost diversified investing for most investors. We still have the advantage of patience that most of the venture capital investors with their 4-5 year time-lines lack.
Post: How to Beat the Market
Link to comment from August 23, 2025
TIAA is facing a class action suit for rigging their retirement calculator to always recommend their annuities and real estate mutual fund (“Ka-Ching”). There are situations where single annuities don’t make sense, eg if your IRA equivalent is fairly large and diversified with bonds, SS and money market funds available for short-term income needs.
Post: Outliving Your Money? Let’s Do the Math on Annuities
Link to comment from August 14, 2025
I always wanted to visit Molokai and would enjoy some travel suggestions, eg where are good snorkeling spots? Sticking to HD’s mission— did the off the map location keep the total travel budget low—eg did the small planes and limited vacation rentals result in low prices that compensate for the high grocery costs? I would imagine it could be like St Johns, VI with a high cost for restaurants and fancy rentals but a lot of inexpensive camping and outdoor activities available?
Post: Reacting to the Tariffs
Link to comment from August 8, 2025
I used to be DIY and had no problems with Vanguard or with Merrill Lynch phone and on-line support. Things got more complicated with SEPs, 503b, transferred IRAs, Merrill brokerage, donor advisory fund, etc. Phone support for both dwindled and became more difficult to access. Three years ago I began using the Vanguard private consulting service and I highly recommend their services. The 0.3% fee is a good value for me and my wife—they help with education and retirement planning and implement investments. They also eliminate service problems and are available to do things like help adjust investment thresholds when dividends trickle in and move money from a money market savings fund to checking and investments. There is a bit of a firewall between the consulting service and setting up their donor advised fund—not sure if that is a regulatory barrier? My spouse hates finances and they could also handle financial affairs if I were to die before her.
Post: Vanguard Complaints?
Link to comment from July 18, 2025
i have seen a lot of strife and estrangements based on widowhood and unusual estate divisions in in-law and friend families: one father with cancer thought it was best to help out the second younger generation and divided up his estate among his grandchildren—this left an unmarried daughter who had no children furious and estranged; I have seen a stepmother take a family farm away from the adult children operating the farm with their estrangement; I saw a widowed father remarry and have him and his wife be rejected by the adult children even though she only had a living will which passed their house eventually to the children and his investments went to the children—they just couldn’t cope with the loss of their mother.
Post: Estrangement & Estates
Link to comment from July 12, 2025
My Vanguard advisor is great and has a 0.3% fee. My previous Wells Fargo wealth advisor charged 1% and offered some high fee products and gave me a portfolio that earned 2% less than my Vanguard portfolio. Firing him and moving over to Vanguard has given me large returns with low fees.
Post: The High Cost of Financial Advice: A Tale of Two Portfolios
Link to comment from July 9, 2025
https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html vanguard’s economic projection may be helpful—they show the importance of standard bond/equity and domestic/international diversification.
Post: Is now the time to go long in bonds?
Link to comment from July 4, 2025